Stop fox hunting – write to the Grand Council of Bern
The canton of Bern is a licence-hunting canton: between 2,000 and 3,500 foxes are shot here every year – most of them end up as waste. On 3 December 2025, GLP cantonal councillor Casimir von Arx tabled Motion 351-2025, co-signed by the SP, SVP, Greens, EVP and FDP. It called for a scientifically supervised field trial: what effect would a moratorium on fox hunting have?
The cantonal government rejected it in its decision of 6 May 2026. Its reasoning does not contain a single study. Remarkably, it concedes itself that hunting non-threatened species such as the fox is «effectively an end in itself» and need not fulfil any explicit regulatory mandate. With this, the government confirms precisely what hobby hunting publicly denies.
Now the Grand Council will decide – presumably in the autumn 2026 session. The cross-party backing for the motion shows that support for a fact-based review is also growing beyond the classic animal welfare circles.
Template letter – copy this text into your email programme
Subject: Motion 351-2025 fox hunting – please vote Yes
Dear Ms [Name] / Dear Mr [Name]
As a citizen, I am writing to you directly because the Grand Council will decide on Motion 351-2025 by cantonal councillor Casimir von Arx (GLP) in the autumn 2026 session. The motion calls for a scientifically supervised field trial on a moratorium on fox hunting.
In its recommendation to reject the motion of 6 May 2026, the cantonal government itself concedes that hunting non-threatened species such as the fox is «effectively an end in itself». This is a remarkable admission – and it refutes the main argument that fox hunting serves a factual purpose.
The research is unequivocal: the canton of Lucerne, the only canton that systematically records the health status of shot foxes, shows that out of 2,217 animals killed, only 39 had any sign of disease – over 98 per cent were healthy. Compensation effects quickly offset the kills (Baker & Harris 2006; Rushton et al. 2006; Kämmerle et al. 2019). In the case of the fox tapeworm, hunting is even counterproductive: a French study (Comte et al. 2017) showed that intensive hunting increased prevalence from 44 to 55 per cent. In Luxembourg, after the hunting ban in 2015, it fell from around 40 to below 20 per cent.
Rabies was not defeated through hunting, but through oral vaccination programmes from 1978 onwards. Foxes are natural protective factors against tick-borne diseases: they regulate mice and rodents, which serve as reservoirs for ticks that transmit Lyme disease. The canton of Geneva has managed without hobby hunting since 1974 – and thus effectively without fox hunting too: only state game wardens are permitted to intervene there, and in the past two years not a single regulatory kill has been carried out. The Swiss National Park has been hunting-free since 1914 – without any population explosion, without more disease outbreaks.
In 2025, the canton of Zug was the only canton to commission an independent study on fox hunting (SWILD, May 2026). The result: fox hunting regulates nothing, does not improve disease control, and non-lethal methods are superior. As a consequence, the hunting commission no longer actively promoted fox hunting.
The canton of Geneva has managed without hobby hunting since 1974 – and thus effectively without fox hunting too: only state game wardens are permitted to intervene there, and in the past two years not a single regulatory kill has been carried out.
The motion does not call for an immediate ban, but for a scientifically monitored field trial. This is precisely the step that the canton of Zug has already taken. I ask you to support motion 351-2025 and thereby open the way for an evidence-based fox hunting policy in the canton of Bern.
Kind regards
[Your name]
[Your place of residence]
What was decided in the canton of Bern
Motion 351-2025, submitted on 3 December 2025 by GLP cantonal councillor Casimir von Arx, co-sponsored by representatives from the SP, SVP, Greens, EVP and FDP. The demand: a time-limited, scientifically monitored field trial on suspending fox hunting in a suitable area.
Cantonal Government Decision 446/2026 of 6 May 2026: rejection. Reasoning: the red fox is huntable under the hunting act and is not endangered, so species-protection grounds do not apply. In doing so, the cantonal government itself concedes that hobby hunting of non-endangered species is «effectively an end in itself» and need not fulfil any explicit regulatory mandate. First signatory von Arx publicly criticised on Radio BeO that the government was missing the actual point of the request.
Bern is a licence hunting canton: anyone who buys a licence may hunt throughout the entire cantonal territory, without responsibility for a specific hunting ground. Each year, 2,000 to 3,500 foxes are killed, the majority of which end up in the rubbish. The decision now lies with the Grand Council, expected in the autumn 2026 session.
What the science says
Population regulation: Compensation effects quickly offset kills. Even intensive hunting shows no lasting effect on the population (Baker et al. 2002; Kämmerle et al. 2019; Rushton et al. 2006).
Rabies: It was not hunting but oral vaccination bait programmes from 1978 onwards that defeated rabies. Lethal methods can intensify outbreaks, because hunted animals become more mobile.
Fox tapeworm: Intensive hunting increases prevalence (Comte et al. 2017, Nancy region). Deworming bait, by contrast, reduced the infection risk in the Starnberg district by 97 to 99 percent. In Luxembourg, prevalence fell from 40 to under 20 percent after the hunting ban in 2015.
Lyme disease: Foxes regulate rodents as tick reservoirs. In areas with higher predator activity, 10–20 percent fewer tick-carrying rodents occur (Hofmeester et al., Proc. Royal Soc. B). Switzerland is among the European hotspots for fox tapeworm.
Geneva / National Park: Geneva has managed without hobby hunting since 1974 – and thus effectively without fox hunting too. The Swiss National Park has been hunting-free since 1914. No population explosions, no worse disease situation.
Full overview of studies: Studies: The impact of hobby hunting on wild animals
Email addresses of the Grand Council of Bern (2022–2026 legislature)
The official contact details of the Bern members of the Grand Council are available on the cantonal website: gr.be.ch – Members. The email addresses take the form firstname.lastname@gr-gc.be.ch.
What has happened in the Canton of Bern so far
📌 Fox hunting: Bern government refuses to examine the evidence
The Executive Council rejects the motion – and in doing so inadvertently confirms that fox hunting is an end in itself.
📌 Hobby hunters as bogus wildlife experts
How Pascal Wolf initiated petitions and motions in over 12 cantons – and what the authorities made of them.
📌 Killed by the million – for nothing: New study exposes hunters' tall tales
Study in «Biological Conservation»: Kills reduce neither populations nor damage.